The participants in the marriage must complete the application dossier for marriage and submit it to the District-level People’s Committee where the Vietnamese citizen resides (for cases where a Vietnamese citizen marries a foreigner and registers the marriage in Vietnam) or the place where either party resides (for foreigners getting married in Vietnam while residing in Vietnam).

The application dossier for marriage registration includes:

• Marriage registration declaration form which has the full information of both male and female. Both male and female parties may use a common marriage registration declaration form;
• Certificate from a Vietnamese or foreign competent health organization certifying that the parties do not suffer from mental illness or other illness in which the party does not have the ability to control his/her behaviors, not exceeding 6 months;
• A valid document proving the marital status of a foreigner which is granted by a competent foreign agency, and certifies that such person is single. In cases where the foreign country does not grant marital
  status certificates, such certificate may be replaced with a document issued
  by a competent foreign agency certifying that the person concerned is
  eligible for marriage under the laws of such country;
• A Vietnamese citizen who has divorced or annulled his/her marriage at a competent foreign agency must submit a copy of the civil status extract showing his/her divorce or marriage annulment (Extract of the divorce note);
• Vietnamese citizens who are civil servants, public employees or serving in the armed forces must submit a written document of the managing agency or unit certifying the marriage with the foreigner is not contrary to the regulations of that branch;
• If the person requesting the marriage registration is on a business trip, studying abroad, or working with a definite term overseas, he/she must submit a Marital Status Certificate issued by the Diplomatic Representative Office or the Consulate Representative Office of Vietnam in the foreign country.

Implementation steps:

• The person requesting marriage registration shall submit the application dossier to the competent District-level People’s Committee;
• The recipient has the responsibility to immediately check the entire dossier, comparing the information in the declaration form and the validity of the documents in the dossier submitted and presented by the requesting person;
• If the dossier is complete and valid, the recipient writes a receipt, in which the date and time of returning the outcome is clearly stated; if the dossier is not sufficient and complete, he/she will immediately guide the applicant to supplement and complete the application in accordance with the regulations; if the dossier is unable to supplemented or completed immediately, the recipient must creating a guidance document in writing, clearly stating the types of documents and contents needed to supplement and complete the dossier, and sign and write the full name of the recipient;
• The Justice Department will conduct a study and evaluation of the application dossier for marriage registration. In case there is a complaint or denunciation regarding the ineligibility of the marriage in accordance with the Law on Marriage and Family, or consider there is issue that needs to be clarified on the personal identity of the man and woman or the documents in the application dossier for marriage registration, the Judicial Office will coordinate with the relevant agencies to verify. During the evaluation and verification of the dossier, the Judicial Office will work directly with the parties when necessary to clarify the personal identities of the parties, whether the marriage is voluntary, and confirm the marriage purposes;

If the dossier is valid and the parties are eligible to get married according to the Law on Marriage and Family, and do not fall under a case where the marriage registration will be rejected by law, the Judicial Office reports to the Chairman of the District-level People’s Committee to consider and decide on the application.  If the Chairman of the District-level People’s Committee approves, then he/she will sign 02 originals of the Marriage Certificate;

• The Justice Department will organize the delivery of the Marriage Certificate to the parties;
• When registering a marriage, both parties must appear at the head office of the People’s Committee. The officer in charge of the civil status work will ask the opinions of both parties. If both sides voluntarily agree to get married, he/she will record the marriage in the Marriage Registration Book.  The officer in charge of the civil status work will guide both parties to check the content in the Marriage Certificate and the Marriage Registration Book.  If both parties acknowledge that the contents are correct in accordance with the application dossier for marriage registration, the officer in charge of the civil status work, together with both partners, will sign the Marriage Registration Book.  Both partners will also sign the Marriage Certificate;

If either partner cannot be present to receive the marriage certificate, at their written request the District-level Justice Division shall extend the time limit for the handover of the marriage certificate not exceeding 60 days from the date the District-level People’s Committee chairperson signs the marriage certificate. After the 60-day time limit, if both partners fail to appear to receive the certificate of marriage, the District-level Justice Division shall propose that the District-level People’s Committee chairperson cancel the signed marriage certificate.  If the two partners still wish to marry each other, they are required to resubmit the marriage registration from the beginning.